"A workshop within a commune might seem insignificant, but if it develops well in the future, it could practically become a small snack food factory!"
"If led properly, it could even surpass a snack food factory."
"Xiangyang Commune has set up a workshop that has been very successful at the Cooperative Society, selling out repeatedly—even receiving orders from the Provincial City. She knew about it, but did not expect that Shen Meng would be the one in charge."
"After hearing Shen Meng’s words, Kong Wenhui felt a surge of enthusiasm. If Cheng Ying were to take over this matter, that child might have a promising future instead of being stuck in the workshop all his life."
"Xiao Meng, wait here for me. I’ll take this grain and spicy strips to let the factory chief try. If he thinks there’s no problem, then it’s easy to discuss further matters."
Hearing this, Shen Meng flashed a determined smile.
Her matters were progressing smoothly here, but Lu Family Village had become a mess. The Secretary and Director Guo were unwilling to manage affairs, leaving only the village chief to console everyone. The village had finally earned some money, but any idling in the workshop made him extremely anxious, especially now that everyone had put down their work and started to make a fuss.
"What does that mean, what did that person mean, saying they won’t deliver fabric anymore? How can we make the head ornaments without fabric?"
"Exactly, the fabric we received today is the last of it, and it’s all used up now. If we can’t secure more fabric, how will we continue making the head ornaments? Have the orders from Provincial City for head ornaments arrived yet? We don’t even know how much to prepare. If we can’t deliver on time, our commune’s reputation will suffer."
"Today Jinghao isn’t here, and I’m not sure about the more complex head ornaments we finished. She hasn’t inspected them. If something goes wrong later, and what I’ve done turns out defective, I won’t be able to explain myself."
"It all seemed to be going smoothly before, but ever since Jiaojiao took charge two days ago, it feels so chaotic. Everything used to go smoothly."
There were actually quite a few people in the workshop who supported Shen Meng, but when the uproar happened, they had already gone home from work. It wasn’t until they came back the next day that they learned the leadership of the workshop had been changed.
Though they supported Shen Meng in their hearts, making money was still the priority as their families were waiting for food. Yet, when it was time to speak up for what’s fair, they were incredibly articulate.
"Hey, this workshop should not be managed by Shen Meng, but by Jiaojiao. Jiaojiao knows people at the Cooperative Society and the textile factory. Jiaojiao is so capable, she can lead us all to earn more money in the future!"
"Exactly, Shen Meng isn’t capable of managing Lu Family Village’s workshop. Her reputation isn’t as good as Jiaojiao’s. Jiaojiao is the one who can really expand and strengthen the workshop."
"It’s those senior sisters and Jiaojiao who are capable. They took over right after Shen Meng was replaced, stepping in themselves. Look, neither the Secretary nor Director Guo can be our leaders, from now on, everything in the village will have to be decided by Jiaojiao."
"You better keep it down, keep blabbering and you might be driven out of Lu Family Village for stirring up trouble with your words."
...
The way people were talking was weirdly sarcastic, and those elder sister-in-laws who had just complained a bit immediately reddened their eyes—it was obvious they were being mocked.
Zhou Jiaojiao also looked somewhat displeased. The person from the Cooperative Society receiving the goods was clearly picking faults, yet she couldn’t get angry and had to withhold her temper while conversing.
"Comrade, these flower headpieces are the same as always, how could there be quality issues? Our headpieces from Xiangyang Commune are famous far and wide, very sought-after. No one has ever said this before."
"Who are you trying to fool? It’s not my first time here. Look, these two have threads coming loose, and these stitches are so crooked yet you still expect them to pass inspection. Is there no quality control in place? Previously, these would never have been accepted. Now this entire basket is full of defective products, how do you expect me to take them? If I take them back, I will be the one getting scolded. I didn’t realize you were so cunning, huh~ Wait a minute, I’ve never seen you before. What’s happening, village chief? If this is the quality of the headpieces, I definitely can’t accept them. It would ruin our Cooperative Society’s reputation. I’ll just leave these here for today, you better check them again. I won’t report this to the leaders, but you all better think this through!"
Lu Debang was sweating profusely, full of regret. He feared his too accommodating nature had let some people take too many liberties.
"Comrade, could you please reconsider? If these headpieces aren’t accepted, wouldn’t the efforts of our village’s women have been in vain? How about this, I’ll find someone to quickly select the good ones, it won’t take long. We’ll also have the person who was in charge of quality control come over. If there’s anything you find unacceptable, we can discuss it further, okay?"
The person from the Cooperative Society shook his head: "No, I have other matters to attend to, I can’t just wait here that long. It’s only been a few days and already so many problems have arisen in your workshop. I also heard you’ve run out of materials. I advise you to figure something out fast. If I don’t take these goods back, the Commune in town won’t receive any headpieces either. If the goods aren’t ready by tomorrow, the reputation of your Xiangyang Commune will suffer."
The person left with the vehicle swiftly, and Zhou Jiaojiao didn’t even manage to keep him.
"Jiaojiao, what did he mean by that? If he doesn’t accept these thousands of headpieces, then haven’t we worked for nothing? I made so many. They have to pay me, right?"
"Exactly, sewing has made a small lump grow on my eyes. It hurts even when I blink. We worked so hard making these headpieces, and now they won’t accept them. Wasn’t all our hard work in vain?"
"You didn’t say that before, Jiaojiao. We all agreed, five cents per headpiece, five cents. This mess you spoke of, how are we supposed to deal with this? What’s going to happen with the workshop, village chief? Our workshop won’t go under, will it?"
Lu Debang was so irritated that his face turned red. He scanned the crowd with his eyes and finally his dark gaze fell on Zhou Jiaojiao.
"Zhou Jiaojiao, you were supposed to be so capable, isn’t this what you wanted? Now you’ve taken over managing the workshop, look at what has become of it in just a few days. The Cooperative Society doesn’t want our headpieces, the textile factory won’t deliver fabric to us anymore. Is this how you manage things? I’ve always told you, don’t bite off more than you can chew. And all you women, Shen Meng didn’t earn a penny from you. She worked hard to set up the workshop just to help everyone earn more money. Now look at what’s happened. Hmph, I’m done interfering. You all think you know best. Do what you want, maybe it’s best if it falls apart. No one should even think about making money anymore. Just go back to the fields and earn your work points honestly. If anyone’s family starves, don’t come crying to me."
Lu Debang’s words turned Zhou Jiaojiao and the others’ faces instantly pale. If no one took responsibility, what would become of their own means to earn money in the future?
Facing the fierce glares from the crowd, Zhou Jiaojiao shivered slightly and stumbled back two steps, momentarily thinking of running away.